Back Porch

Our back porch was just one of the many "eyesores" of our house.  I never really took any pictures of it because it was so ugly.  The stairs going down to it were odd-sized and tilted.  The part under the deck was 3 levels that had been pieced together with brick and concrete.  The top picture is actually a screenshot from a video I took of the grandkids' Easter egg hunt in April 2012.  The bottom picture is our new sidewalk (ramp) and patio.

Chase

Chase went with me to Joseph's football game.  In the picture above, he is receiving instruction from Michael.  In the video, Jeff is teaching him how to golf.

Joseph's Football

Joseph makes the tackle in the video.  He's #33 and plays right guard, but you have to watch it a few times to follow him.  Michael is holding the down marker at the sidelines.

Joseph's Birthday

With school and football, it's been hard to schedule an activity. Then, when we did, I forgot my camera. So, here's us with Joseph several days after his activity. We went to a movie with him and ate in the car on the way.

Cousins' Gathering Place

Our new house has become a gathering place for cousins.  Though the backyard still isn't quite finished, the kids had the first picnic on the "island" (picture #1) and watching the excavation in the backyard became a "spectator sport" (picture #2).

Backyard Evolution

The pictures, above, show the transformation (so far) of our backyard (as seen from our bay window).  Picture #1 was taken in July of 2011, picture #2 was taken in February of 2012, and picture #3 was taken today (August 2012).

These pictures show the transformation (so far) of our backyard (as seen from the back of our property).  Picture #4 was taken in July of 2012, and picture #5 was taken today (August 2012).

Our Barn

We've been using our neighbor's barn (right center in 2nd picture) for a horse shelter and stacking hay under the blue tarp.  We're building a barn that will be divided into two sections -- one for horses and one for hay, etc.